Vladimir Filipović, Political History of the 20th Century: An Overview of Selected Political Processes (1914 – 1990)

Abstract

The Handbook Political history of the 20th century was written as a review text for all interested students of political science and history, as well as for the general public, as a clear and concise introduction to the major political processes in the period of the “short” 20th century bounded by the beginning of the First World War and the collapse of the communist system in 1989/1990. In the preface, the author already clearly states that his text will not be burdened with numerous factographies or as he states: “This means that for this book, it is more important for the reader to understand why something happened (the review author’s bold) than how and when it happened. This, of course, doesn’t mean that it is irrelevant how and when something happened, but the priority is given to causes and consequences (the review author’s bold), i.e. the analysis” (p. 11). The author consistently adhered to this principle which enabled him to present the extremely complex and complicated events of the 20th century to the reader in a relatively fluid manner. This was the result of his decision to differentiate important from less important processes and to devote himself only to the former. It should be emphasized right away that the work, in accordance with the title, focuses on political history, so you will not find much about the economy, finances, the army or the demographics of individual countries here.